The Right Path
by Safis grin
Summary: Time passed after the grand ending of Avatar the last Airbender. Two people made a choice they shouldn t have, but now they are wiser and not as hasty. Faith can sometimes give you a second chance. I m planning on possibly making this a continuation of many chapters, but you can affect on that. If continued, it will surely have romance as a genre.


**The right path**

Epilogue

Zuko stood there, finally calming after giving a hug to his new comrade, the Avatar Aang. It was over. The war had left its mark on everyone, especially on the soon to be Fire Lord. Still, he couldn´t help smiling at the thought that in a way, it was just the beginning. He waited the doors to open and found satisfactory over the fact that he wasn´t so nervous anymore. He was going to rule the Fire Nation. That had almost made his stomach to turn upside down before, but now when he looked at Aang and thought about all of his friends he realized that it wasn´t him that was going to rule. It was all of them.

Still, in the mist of all the happiness, he felt something unsettling. He had tried to find the answer to this feeling, but couldn´t place it. He knew that they had done everything and more, when it came to ending the war. He also knew that chancing the past was impossible, so if it was in the past, it shouldn´t bother him quite this way. No. This was more like a hunch from the future. Like a steadily growing fear of making the wrong decision.

On the other hand that had always been his fear: making the wrong decision. He had thought long and hard about all of the future decisions he knew he was going to make, but could find nothing wrong with mind he had made up with each and every one.

"Zuko… No. _Lord_ Zuko, it´s time." Aang pressed while giving his friend a wide grin. Zuko made little disapproving noise, but felt the corners his lips turn upward. He shouldn´t be going in front of his people thinking about wrongdoings. But still…

"Hey, Aang…?" Zuko started trying to share this weird feeling with his friend. Aang turned his smiling face towards the soon to be ruler.

"Yeah?"

"I… you know… do you ever have this feeling..?"

"Nervous?"

"No. …even if I think I should be." Aang let out a small laugh and Zuko felt a little tug on the corner of his lips. "Do you ever feel like, you are about to do something wrong?" Aang lifted his right eyebrow as a sign he had no idea what Zuko was aiming at. Prince felt little reddish hue appear on his cheeks.

" I mean… do you ever have a feeling, like someone is trying to point you to do something that would make a big difference and you can´t quite understand what you should do?"

"I think I get it. When I was trying to find the answers to bring peace, the Avatars before me were trying to guide me many times, and sometimes, I had trouble of seeing what I should do. Don´t worry, Zuko. As the Avatar, I tell you that you will become a good ruler and your path is the right one. Just keep on following it."

"Thanks… but that isn´t actually the…" "Hey now, can´t let your people wait. Come on. It´s time to give people the sight of their future."

Zuko really wanted to speak his mind now, but then the voices of the crowd reached him. Multiple cheers and shouts were letting him know that he was eagerly expected. He shook the nagging thoughts from his head and stepped forward. The joy was glistering in the air. Even if the covering fighters, citizens and families had still marks from the devastating war, their faces told that they were ready to embrace the celebration and new beginning. He looked at the cheering people and for the first time took the stage as their king. He felt he already loved all of his people, like he had a grand family to take care of. Zuko raised his voice to spoke about the future that was promising better for all of them. He encouraged everyone to work together towards that.

"…the era of love and peace."

With the crowd cheering he eyed the first row, where his friends were and happened to lock his eyes with Katara´s. Right there and then, the unsettling feeling came crushing. Zuko felt sick. Like a horrible void was spreading inside him and he was the one widening it. It was Ba Sing Se all over again and he felt like he was choosing Azula´s side. Why? He watched Katara for a moment. Her eyes had suddenly come bigger as her hand moved to rest on her heart. She had a little panic growing on her face and as the watched each other, both knew that this moment had some meaning. What was it, damn it!? What was he supposed to do? He found no wronging in anything he had decided to do. It was right! He was sure his decisions were right – all of them. And he was not going to change anything! As his face took a stern look he reached behind and reached for Mai, who came to stand next to him with little smile on her face. Zuko circled his hand around her to show the word, who their future rulers were.

Suddenly it felt like something had shattered and a small grumble passed under his feet. Everything seemed normal to the outside but he had a bad feeling. Like he had made something enormous to change its course. Nothing like a ship, but something lot bigger. Fate. He didn´t like it.

**The right path**

Time passed. The group of friends did everything they could to help the nations prosper and achieve a true time of peace. They traveled all around the different nations helping small villages to do reconstructions as well as planning major salesmanship and development work in bigger capitals. Hard work and constant moving gave little time to their selves, but everyone was happy. This was their purpose. To defend peace and help others. And that´s what they were content to do. Time passed on. Many times they celebrated, many times they saw the seasons follow each other. And time passed on. The group bonded more, got happier with every love´s union, got bigger with every new born, but also got smaller with every lost that also brought grief into their eyes and more signs of passing through a human life on their faces and bodies. And time passed on.

Katara was standing near the coastline waiting for the ship to reach the harbor of Southern Water tribe. There was a certain grace and power in the way she stood, even if time had forced her back to arch forward. Although the wind felt chilly, she was warm in the blue and white furs that catered the heat from the gently shining sun. When the heavy form of a Firenation ship moved closer, she found herself falling in her memories from the first time she had seen this picture. When she was small and full of fear of the unknown. But she couldn´t help but smile, when thinking of the wonder, how her heart was now full of warmth looking at the ship. How she felt eagerness growing to a point where she forgot her age and was a little girl again.

And for the tiniest moments, she let go of the thought why the ship was really nearing her home. She pictured a group of very different people running towards her, shouting promises of the unknown adventures. Her family. Everyone beautiful, full of life, loud and fast, young and… still present and living.

The bittersweet laughter that escaped between her lips woke her from the pleasant dreamland she had fallen in. Voices ahead made her look again in front of her and she could see five people nearing towards her. First two were young children wearing red and black cloaks.

"Gran! Gran Katara!" Katara smiled so that her teeth were visible and hurried towards the small siblings.

"My my! I didn´t recognize you! And here I was sure that two Fire princesses were gracing me with their visit!" The girls around five and seven years laughed and wrapped their hands on Katara´s legs.

"We _are_ Fire princesses, silly gran!" Katara looked at them with wonder and well hid humor.

"Well, what do you know? I think you are right! But you know that to me, you two are first my treasures and only second princesses. …because to princesses, I wouldn´t be able to do _this_!" The girls gave out big screams which were mixed on their laughter when Katara swooped both of them in her arms and started spinning around. Too soon, she felt the need to let go of their happy moment and rest.

After putting them to the ground she looked at both of them and smiled, letting her hands feel their faces, hair, shoulders. They were as precious to her as her real grandchildren.

"Look at you two. You have grown so much. You are both beautiful. I bet you will grow out to be the two most beautiful ladies in the whole kingdom." The girls giggled with pleasure. "I can´t see how´s that possible, when you are killing all the competition with your face at the moment and still getting more beautiful …even now."

Katara turned to look at the last voice and when the Firelord Zuko gazed at her with his warm golden eyes, she had no chance fighting against the tears that gathered in her eyes. "Oh, Zuko." He was old, as she, and something about witnessing that, made her feel like grieving. Never the less, she always felt they shared a bond like no other, which made her feel deep joy. He was probably her best friend. Even after all this time.

"Silly old man. I can see, why your daughter doesn´t let you rule anymore. You have gone senile." Zuko pushed his son in law away from him, saying he could stand without help. Katara found it both, funny and adorable how Zuko´s family was so determined to help the aging man that they treated him sometimes like a cripple. And Zuko was always embarrassed by that. He turned his eyes back on Katara.

"I might say the senile one is you. Have you forgotten how to greet a friend after you haven´t seen him in many years?" Katara laughed and as fast as she could, rose and leaped towards Zuko hugging him against her and placing a big wet kiss on his scar. Zuko looked at Katara with a smile before speaking.

"Now, that´s more like it." Katara let her eyes travel on Zuko´s face, looking at the wrinkles and graying hair. Still… she was glad to find that the ever sparking fire in his eyes was still there, loud and clear, even if his eyes had gotten little lighter on their color.

The tall man on his 40`s next to them spoke, getting Katara´s attention. "I´m sorry for your lost, auntie." Zuko saw the change on her eyes to that of sadness, and rolled his own.

"Kezan is hopeless when it comes to laughter – he cannot maintain it." Even if Katara had tears running on her cheeks now, she found it easy to smile. "Well, I don´t blame him. Laughter is a scare skill, which many aren´t as blessed with as us." Then Katara let go of Zuko and turned to hug the husband of Zuko´s daughter. "Thank you, Kezan. I really appreciate this."

Katara had understood a long ago, that life itself was everyone´s friend, even when it decided to take a loved one away. And she had learned to embrace it in all situations. But seeing as Kezan had harder time talking about death as she and Zuko, she decided to chance the subject. "How is your wife?"

Kezan tried to maintain a serious expression, thinking of the situation at hand, but there was happiness glittering in his eyes. "She should have our fourth child in less than a month. She sends her best regards and is sorry that she couldn´t come." Katara smiled and winked to the man.

"Thank you. I´m very happy, not to speak eager, to hear that your family is so close on getting bigger again."

Kezan flushed and looked at his wrinkling toes like a small boy. Katara´s smile grew. _"That he has surely in common with mister hotpants."_ Zuko took a step forward to be able to stand next to Katara and looked meaningfully at the other Firenation man. "I think you should follow your kids. They are long gone." Kezan´s eyes got bigger with horror and before he even tried to look what direction they might have taken, his feet had already started moving him towards the village, which had prospered into a grand ice-capital.

Katara found Kezan always as entertaining as any Ember Island play. Her attention was taken by Zuko when he took a hold of her elbow and settled in a little more serious expression, but none the less warm. "How about it, Master Katara? I would really want to have you to myself for a while now." Katara smiled, but with little sadness this time, because she knew what was the topic of their next conversation.

"Then how about, we take a walk?" Zuko nodded and they started taking easy steps away from the city.

When Zuko was sure there wouldn´t be any interruptions, he easied the speed little more from their already calm movements. "Katara, I´m sorry I couldn´t be here sooner." Katara felt she would probably start crying sooner than she had planned.

"I´m not mad about it. And I´m sure your sadness is almost as great as mine." Zukos voice turned little more raspy.

"Still I wished I could´ve been here. With you." Katara patted Zuko´s arm in a motherly fashion.

"It might be hard to believe, but I´m a big girl now, so I was okay without you here. So you don´t have to blame yourself for that."

Zuko stopped and turned towards Katara with more loneliness in his eyes, that she had expected there to be.

"I was never worried that you wouldn´t manage. You are Katara after all. It´s me who missed your company when I heard." A tear escaped out of his eye.

"Oh, silly old man! You should have sent a letter and I would have swam to you if I´d had to!" Katara pulled the aged lord towards her and held him as close as she could.

"Yes.. knowing that actually stopped me from doing so." Katara smacked Zukos arm, but didn´t let go. Zuko pressed Katara closer to himself and spoke against her shoulder. "Deep inside me, I guess, I kind of thought Aang would live forever." Now Katara had started crying also.

"I know. I had the same thought. Even if a person learns to accept life and its end, it still hurts." Then they fell into silence and just cried silently. Katara moved her head to be able to whisper to Zukos ear. "Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me."

Zuko turned his head also in a similar way. "It means even more to me."

Aang had a grand funeral. Even if the occasion had been colored by the simple customs of the water tribe, there were so many people present, that all the speeches alone took two days. Everyone wanted to say something to a person who had held their hand, remembered a poor´s name, given a reason to carry on, given help without asking anything in return. Being a good friend. Being a great husband.

Later at the evening of the third day, when finally the quests had left and her dear husband was finally resting under the white snow, Katara was standing on her back yard, looking at the sky. She wished Sokka would have had a chance to say something, for the idiot had a true talent of getting the air lighter and filled with laughter. But her brother had passed away already four years ago. Katara had hoped Aang would have stayed with her at least long enough for the pain of losing her brother to fade. Her old heart had a hard time taking these kinds of blows. There had been many of those.

"Hey, beautiful. You know, you´ll get a cold out here." Katara didn´t need to turn around to recognize the raspy voice.

"Not in a million years, Zuko. I haven´t been sick since I munched those frogs, long time ago."

Zuko chuckled and came to stand beside her. He´s inner fire was still warm and powerful enough, so that Katara found herself leaning closer to his side, in hope of warming herself also.

"How are you, Katara?"

"I´m okay. Not so much sad, but definitely lonely. This is the one minus I have found in being this old."

"If you have only one, I must say, I envy you." Katara laughed and leaned her head to Zuko´s shoulder.

"What? Has the age taken its toll on the great Fire Lord Zuko? Please, entertain me."

Zuko took a glimpse on Katara. Even if they were talking on a light manner, he understood that it was necessary. Katara had lost so much, that if they would not try to find laughter in almost everything, she would probably drown on her sorrow. And so would he. Zuko sighed dramatically.

"My body is grumbling. The changes are not what I would like to admit. And there is no way to stop it."

"Well.. that isn´t so bad. I think you are still doing pretty well compared to your age."

"…Just the other day I came across to one of the noble families on the palace area and their little girl, who started crying after seeing my face."

"…And what comes to the 'no way of stopping it', you could exercise…"

"She called me a monster."

"…and th.. what?" Katara backed from Zuko enough to be able to look at him straight to his face. His cheeks were red and he had a face of desperation. Katara burst out laughing harder than she had for months, maybe years.

"Y..you.. hahaha… were talking… I can´t…! Hahahahaha!"

"And _now_ you laugh? I was trying to share a negative aspect of life with you!"

Katara was holding her stomach, but started getting a better hold of her breathing. Her voice was still unsteady and glittering from the laughter that still tried to surface.

"You were talking …about outer appearances?"

Zuko was silent but tried to point with his eyes that if Katara wasn´t going to be on his side, she should be silent. But Katara didn´t either see or care.

"The great Fire lord is devastated because a little girl got frightened by couple of wrinkles?"

"Katara…"

"This is priceless! Oh, how I wish Sokka would be here to hear this! No, Aang would definitely laugh even more!"

"Katara…!"

"I can´t believe this! You of all people! Haha.. oh, my heart can´t take th…!" Katara was silenced by a big ball of snow smacking her straight to the face. For a long moment neither moved. They stared at each other. Katara´s wrinkled thin lips turned into a sly grin.

"You still throw challenges you have no chance of winning, I see." Before Zuko could react, Katara made a fluid motion with her arms and big wave of cold snow buried Zuko whole.

A moment later the snow pile glowed and melted around him.

"I beg to disagree." Zuko reached to the ground and gathered another mass to throw at Katara. She tried to reach behind an ice fence on her yard and cursed her old legs for failing on speed so badly. She managed to take cover and shouted back to Zuko on her adrenaline rush.

"Oh, you will _beg_!" They tried to throw snow and chase each other, but in the end, they made the activity look more like a comedy show, than a fight. Both were moving slowly and panting even after small run. The movements were clumsy and it was hard to try and gather snow from the ground when their backs told them they wouldn´t bend anymore. Still, they found themselves enjoying their silly ways. Eventually both collapsed next to each other on the snow, panting and tired and red on their faces, but smiling more than ever.

"Call it even?" Katara spoke between breaths.

"I would have… won, but I… let you get… away easy…" Zuko panted and got surprised by Katara smacking snow on his face with her left hand that stayed there on top of his vision. Zuko yelped and showed the hand away.

"Okay, okay. Even. I was just kidding." They turned their heads to look at each other and the sight of two old sponges they were, lying there trying to beat each other on a snow fight sinked in. They laughed again to each other, to their young hearts and to the joy that came from having still somebody to share these kinds of things with.

They calmed down and kept on smiling to one another. Katara felt a little shiver on her back and was first to cut the silence.

"Come on, old man. I will make us a nice cup of tea." But before she was able to get fully up, Zuko spoke.

"Come with me to the Fire Nation." Katara turned to him and smiled.

"That sounds nice. Maybe next summer I could plan a visit there. I would love to see Aya´s baby..."

"No. Come with me and stay there." They were silent again and Zuko could see in her eyes, that she was still wondering, whether he meant it or not.

Zuko´s calm golden gaze told her, he was dead serious. First she was ready to decline his suggestion. Her family, or what was left of it, was here. Her home and life was here. But suddenly she felt something. Like the whole world would have stopped to wait around her, but at the same time like she would have had a strong tug inside her telling this was more important than it seemed. What was that? Her mind had it clear to stay here, but it was like the whole spirit world would have started sizzling around her. Did Zuko notice? Her heart rate increased and the decision became heavy. What in the name of Tui..? Suddenly she remembered that she had felt this same heaviness long time ago, at Zuko´s coronary. She had always trusted her instincts and now they told her, that she shouldn´t be hasty with this one.

"…what makes you suggest that?"

"I don´t know how much time we each have and I would love to have a friend next to me for the rest of the time I am blessed with."

"Zuko…" Her senses felt like they were tingling. Like the world, her element was suddenly alive whispering very loudly _'You must make the right decision'_.

"Please. I miss you. And… I´m afraid of dying alone." Katara felt her heart broke a little to what Zuko was saying. She graveled to him and buried him into her arms. She sighed and decided to trust her gut for this last time.

"You should never feel afraid of that, for you have a loving family there for you. Always. And I know for a fact that you are too stubborn to die for a long time still. …but, I would like to have a friend around also. Yes, Sparky, I will come with you."

Zuko looked at Katara with so much gratefulness that she knew this was the right decision. Suddenly the world got still around them. The silence was so heavy they both couldn´t help but notice it. What was that? And then it seemed like the whole sky would have exploded in to a joyous celebration. Thousands of different northern lights covered the whole sky so fully that the sky itself was not visible anymore. And then Katara felt a small but gentle voice inside her heart.

'_Good.'_ She placed her hand to her chest and whispered. "…Aang?" Then the voice, the feeling and the glorious lights were gone. What was left was a feeling in her heart, like it had patched all the cracks and wounds the time had done to it. Her heart pumped warm blood onwards inside her with more force it had in years, like it was a heart of a young girl again. Katara rose.

"Okay. How about that tea?"

After two weeks the Firelord and his companions had to get back to their duties. When Katara had announced that she would go with them, there was a wave of objections. Katara was an important character in the capital. The council tried to reason with her till the end.

"You can´t abandon your place as our bendingmaster. What will come of it if our most important mentor should leave us?" The speaker was one of the younger elders, only 52 of age. He had a good vision of the south people´s future, but didn´t really get along with Katara.

"Please, Arluk. You know better than I, that I haven´t been teaching bending for a long time. It is the time of the young ones." Katara knew it wasn't going to be as simple as her just telling of leaving and the rest would happily send her off. But she had patience to guide the council to that.

"That may be, but you are still very active as well as needed in the hospital development. No one knows more than you about the matter."

"Dear, Kaya. All of my knowledge shouldn´t be transported to the next generation. For they are finding new solutions and ways that make my knowledge little outdated. There are many I can name to take charge and do a lot better job, than I have done."

"Then how about your family? You are going to abandon them?" There was a little silence, for many felt maybe this conversation was turning little rude. All loved Katara. That was the bottom line for the reason no one wanted for her to leave. Zuko would have flamed around there and Katara had made a wise decision by ordering him to stay out of that meeting. Old Watermaster merely smiled kindly, like a mother to a child who didn´t yet understand but was not to blame for it.

"That is one of the big reasons I have decided to go. My children have their families now. Yes, I am aware how much they love me and Yue knows I love them even more. But my family is not living in the nest I builded with my husband. They flew from there long ago. And that is how it should be. Long ago, I had a family, which helped me to find me through laughs, fights and love that I didn´t always deserve. Now only one member of that family is left besides me and I don´t want to let myself get weak and fragile alone, while I know, there is someone who can share all the adventures, the feelings and fears that I have, with me. I want to be with my last family member now, until we can all be together again. I am going _because_ I don´t want to abandon my family." No one spoke after that.

When Katara waved to her snow covered home, while standing on the deck of the parting ship, all the people from the city were standing there, even the council, giving her journey their blessing. Zuko stood next to her receiving the warm goodbyes as well and waving back. When he turned his head to look at Katara, he saw she cried silently, but smiled and waved at the same.

"You will see them again." Zuko said while placing his hand around Katara´s shoulders.

"No, I probably don´t. But I´m not sad about that. Just the opposite. I´m clad of the picture we can see now. Look at them. Look how far the little village has come from our childhood times. They have prospered during the good, long years of peace and I have been able to leave a mark in that. I couldn´t ask for more." Katara smiled for a moment, but something told Zuko that the tears he saw weren´t only happy tears.

"Then… what is it that makes my girl cry?" Katara laughed little easier.

"It is just… I kind of wanted to see it one more time."

"It?"

"The old village. The small huts and just a handful of men, doing hard labor before their food. That hasn´t felt truly like a home for a while. But that is because, my true home is and has always been with the gang." They both smiled little more. "But the more I have lost of my most dearest group, the more I´ve seen that as a place, this is not the one I could call home anymore." Katara turned her head to look at Zuko. "Now that I am standing here and moving forward, I feel like I´m going home." Katara lifted her right hand to Zuko´s sholder and grabbed his parka from there in a tight grip. "Thank you for taking me home."

Zuko shook his head and lifted his hands to take a hold of Kataras elbows. "No. Thank you. I didn´t come to take you back home. I came, because I missed _my_ home. You are my home, Katara." Katara took her mitten shielded hand and lifted it from Zuko´s shoulder to his scar and patted it gently.

"Welcome home, Zuko." Zukos face melted into a warm and relieved state. He had been really waiting to hear that. Like someone had given him a permission to finally rest.

"Likewise, Katara."

They turned to look at the city, which was now only a small silhouette at a distance. Zuko had steadied his voice back to normal and said with light tone.

"You know… you could still jump and swim back." Katara looked Zuko from the corner of her eyes and hit his side with her elbow. Then she went back trying to see the small spot where the glorious city was standing. Like some distant memory or dream had surfaced, Katara spoke.

"You know… long ago, when Aand restored the peace, I had this suffocating feeling. Like I was doing the biggest mistake of my life. First I didn´t realize what it was, but now that I see my people standing there in their blue outfits, next to that big icewall, I think… I think I felt then, that I should have stayed in Firenation." After a small silence, Katara backed away from the railing, gotten enough of the cold sea wind.

"I think I´m going to have something nice and warm to drink. I´ll make enough for the both of us." Katara didn´t realize that Zuko had stiffened and gotten silent. Katara´s words had stroke through him and opened his mind to a shock he never had seen coming. With understanding one specific moment in his past, for the first time, he turned to look at Katara´s back and murmured his thought out loud. "I should have asked you to stay."


End file.
